Over 50 students attend PRINT 13 in Chicago

Studying in the College of Business and Behavioral Science at Clemson has its distinct advantages. Just ask students who’ve attained the junior/senior level of Graphic Communications and attended the recent student trip to the PRINT’13 exposition in Chicago, September 7-9. At the event, GC students had the opportunity to travel and experience with the current world of graphic communications and the working professionals associated with the cutting edge companies on full display at McCormick Place Convention Center.

For Juniors and Seniors, these types of opportunities present themselves routinely– thanks to Student Enrichment funds generated by the College of Business and Behavioral Science.

“Print ‘13 was an awe-inspiring opportunity,” said Mason McCaskill, a Junior GC major. "I was blessed with the chance to visit this event for the first time in 2013. You cannot help but be amazed at what is happening in the world of print.”

Just as every year in recent memory, an eager group of 51 students flew north to Chicago along with five GC faculty guides to experience what is known as “PRINT’13.” This event iswidely-known to those in the industry as an the yearly exhibition of state-of-the-art technologies that are involved in the printing, publishing, marketing, and packaging industries.

After departing early Saturday, September 7th, students were given one day to experience the sights and sounds of Chicago’s vibrant, lakefront downtown prior to the start of the PRINT ’13 exposition. Meghan Coates, a senior GC student, “especially enjoyed getting to experience the city of Chicago and seeing the River Walk, Wrigley Field, the Bean, and Navy Pier.”

Sunday and Monday brought on the opportunity for students to engage and absorb the flurry of activities on the tradeshow floor at McCormick Place Convention Center. There companies representing a breadth of the commercial printing arena converged to present their latest and greatest products and service offerings.

Truly, the networking opportunities with industry experts and working professionals were abundant. “The Print’13 trip was awesome. I got a chance to meet great people in the industry and build on information that I am learning in class,” raved Junior GC major, Bre'kean Featherstone.

Students and faculty were also able to represent the department at our very own Clemson GC display booth on the show’s “Education Main Street” section of the expo alongside peer universities and educational institutions. Here, professionals were given the chance to seek out the Clemson’s faculty and students to converse about opportunities for collaboration and future employment.

“I had a great conversation with a man who worked at American Greetings in Ripley, TN,” commented Meredith Gill, GC graduate student. “He said he was always so impressed with the students at Clemson and their clear understanding of the print industry. He believes this is because of our hands-on labs, which build our capabilities for problem solving and insight. He said he would love to have some interns for this coming year and left his business card.”

Despite being required to work around work and class schedules and missing one of Clemson’s gameday experiences on Saturday, the trip was rewarding. Aly Scherer, Senior GC major, may have put it best when she said, “Print’13 was a fantastic way of meeting people within the printing industry. No matter how many times I have been to Chicago, each experience is different, crazy, exhausting, and educational all at once. From the moment you park at Kite Hill at 5:45 in the morning to finally getting back at midnight three days later you've experienced so much. It is worth it!”